


Jurassic World AU Drabbles

by SineadRivka



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, American Sign Language, Drabbles ate my brain, F/M, Fluff, Plot Bunnies - Freeform, Very fluffy, oh my god the fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 02:57:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5568148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SineadRivka/pseuds/SineadRivka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When I get bit by certain bunnies, I just have to go with it. The first two chapters are plot bunnies that a friend of mine dropped in my Tumblr ask box, and they just wouldn't leave me alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Signing True

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crossoverAUman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crossoverAUman/gifts).



> I took a class of ASL just over a year ago, so my knowledge is a little fuzzy even though I brushed up for the first chapter. I'm also taking some creative liberties since there are physiological differences between human hands and dinosaur hands. Please use your imagination.
> 
>  _ **Prompt:**_ Ok but au where Owen raises the Indominus babies alongside the Squad and he teaches them sign language, and one day a little deaf kid is at their exhibit and the two indomini are just freaking the fuck out because OH MY GOD DAD HE SIGNS TOO!!!!!
> 
> Dammit, Hicc. Dammit. One day I’ll charge you for this.

.o.

There were times when he wished that they all had four fingers and a thumb. It would make teaching so much easier. He actually _lost sleep_ over the fact that his scaly babies didn’t have thumbs and he had to adjust an entire lesson to account for four pairs of three fingers . . . and two pairs of three fingers and a quasi-thumb.

Owen sighed, rubbing at his face. The snores echoing from the babies’ paddock were almost obscene in how gleefully dead to the world his strange pack was.

They were very strange.

Two fucking huge genetic monstrosities filled more carnivore DNA than he was comfortable contemplating. Four velociraptors that were nothing like the first versions that Henry Wu had cooked up for the first park. All six of them refused to behave in ways that their DNA should have dictated they should. Yes, they were all very much hunters, and all very much carnivores. However, they possessed a certain higher functioning that didn’t seem like it lined up right. There was a lack of violence and aggression.

He groaned. He really should be sleeping and not contemplating . They’d need him alert tomorrow for their first real outing in a month.

The park was on their monthly maintenance shutdown, which meant no guests.

Which meant open streets.

Which meant that he could bring his pack for a walk.

Know what? He was going to bed. He’d work with the girls on the fly. They adapted pretty damn well to learning on the go.

Closing the laptop, Owen stretched, stood, and began stripping himself down to his boxers. It was a cool night, but he had a bedwarmer breathing slow and heavy in her slumber. Smiling, he spooned up behind his girlfriend, hearing her groan a protest at his chilly toes before falling back asleep again. Tucking a strand of copper hair behind her ear, he sighed into the vanilla spice scents that permeated his sleeping linens.

He was glad that she had persisted on making a second date not long after the first date fell to shambles. She was a damn fine woman, even if she didn’t drink tequila.

Ah, well. Owen nuzzled closer and settled himself to sleep.

.o.

A year passed, with amazing benefits and drawbacks. The pack outgrew their baby paddock, and soon it became difficult to bring the Indominus rexes anywhere but out into the restricted area or in their “viewing” paddock closer to the actual park. Even if the paddock was still under construction and still being considered for shows, it was something that the big girls loved to play in, so long as the construction workers ignored them. The raptors were still mobile around the park so long as they weren’t hungry, and helped with various herding exercises and pest eradication.

They all helped when it came to the damned wild cat infestation. Some dipshit members of an environmentalist extremism cult thought it would be a good idea to capture, transport, and release seventeen large, hungry, wild jaguars into the island. While it was open for guests.

Oh, that was a very, _very_ unhappy week for everyone.

Except the raptors and i-rexes.

Owen’s pack was put to the test of making the island safe again. He had demanded free reign to hunt the wild cats down, which were not originally native to the island. And he had gotten what he demanded. Within eight hours of the discovery of wild cats on the island, the threat was contained and eradicated. They had lost only one day of an open park, and twelve hours of normal operations, including security sweeps and janitorial work.

And every lesson he had taught the girls had paid off. He had the surveillance video to prove it and to prove to the world that his girls weren’t just monsters . . . they were his absurdly intelligent monsters who knew how to communicate in two languages.

A hand waved in his direction with a whine to get his attention and he chuckled. “Yes, India?”

The younger Indominus tilted her head to one side, hands moving in ways that worked with her physiology. _Head-itch-pain-far-coming-closer-what?_

He smiled, using the same adaption of American Sign Language. It ignored thumbs and facial expressions, making it both harder and easier to learn. Harder, because he had to find ways to add punctuation and grammar without pursed lips or furrowed eyebrows. Easier because he could teach them something instinctive instead, such as head and neck positions and angles for questions, statements, and emphasis.

_Storm-away-two-sunrise. Maybe-bad-big-maybe-bad-little. I-don’t-know._

_Yuck. Pain. Like-not-not-not._

Laughing, Owen gestured for India to come closer to him, then to open her mouth so he could investigate the old wound that was giving her trouble. She had bitten into one of the jaguars that decided to fight back in earnest. Pulling away, he winced, rubbing a closed fist against his sternum. _Sorry. Pain-bad?_

She shook her head. Her older, larger sister, named Foxtrot, harrumphed and moaned, wanting nose scritches, blowing sour air over her handler. Owen grinned. His work was never done, but with his girls and an amazing girlfriend, he couldn’t complain.

.o.

They had become an attraction. Granted, the I-rexes were meant for that from the beginning, but it was still something new to them in the last three months. Unlike what they had originally planned for, because of emergent qualities that Wu hadn’t anticipated, the pack had become part of research in a way that nobody could have anticipated. Wu had been caught out in an internal sting for having his hands in too many pies. They found that InGen had wanted bio-engineered weapons. The next step had been to speed-grow human-dino stormtroopers. It was terrifying.

Needless to say, a new Lead Geneticist had been hired to replace Wu as Claire had him prosecuted on corporate, scientific, and ethical matters.

Owen had asked for and received a presenter to help with his twice-daily shows on weekdays, and three shows on weekends. He would need to keep his focus entirely on his girls while they worked together. They went through basic commands, then intelligence tests that were different at every show, brought in by a park guest or a VIP researcher.

It was the last show of the day, last show of the weekend, and the guest researcher was starting to feel the heat, fanning himself between comments and questions. Owen hadn’t had time to do more than mop down between feeding the girls and cleaning blood from their snouts and claws. He was tired, sticky, and done with humanity for a while. He wanted to settle down and snuggle under a couple raptors for an hour.

Movement caught Foxtrot’s eye. She darted forward, eyes intent upon two people halfway up the seating area. Some of the audience screamed, pressing backwards at the sudden movement, and the presenter looked to Owen frantically. He whistled to India, gesturing to her to lift him onto the platform. Once there, Owen whistled again, catching Foxtrot’s attention. Finally getting it, he gave her a confused face. _What?_

_DAD-SIGN-LOOK-SIGN-SIGN-ME-THEM-SIGN-TALK-BOY-SIGN-DAD-DAD-LOOK!!!_

The child and their guardian stared, slack-jawed.

Owen felt tears begin to prickle at the corners of his eyes. _I-see-yes. Want-talk-them-later?_

_NOW-SIGN-TALK-NOW-SHOW-DONE-NOW-SIGN-SIGN-PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE!!!_

His smile threatened to break his jaw as he signed Wait-wait-almost to the biggest packmate. He leaned into the microphone being held up for him, signing to the parent and child to come closer. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I was introduced to you as the pack Alpha. My name is Owen Grady. Over the last four years of their lives, I have taught my pack a form of sign language derived from American Sign Language. What you have just seen . . . what you are going to be witnessing, is the first time that any of my pack can interact without me as an interpreter.” He leaned over the walls to signal to Blue and the raptors that they were to take up space behind the glass.

“Wait,” the researcher said, his voice soft, shocked and incredulous. “You actually _taught_ them more than basic hand-signals?”

“Well, when a raptor wants to eat, they let their needs be known pretty well. Same with the rexes.” Owen grinned. “And when a raptor or rex wanted a treat, they learned what I taught them. When they progressed and showed comprehension, they got better treats.” He grinned at the happy bouncing that the two Indominus rexes were doing, abbreviated signs flying back and forth before they figured out who would start first. The little boy was openly crying, but smiling, and Owen shushed the crowd.

Foxtrot continued, since she had made the connection first. _Sad-happy-why?_

_Happy! Sign-you-understand-me?_

Owen translated the exchange softly, watching how Foxtrot worked out “understand,” which normally brought the hand up beside the temple in a fist, flicking the first finger up a couple times. India watched the boy sign it again, then coughed at Owen, who smiled and made the boy’s sign, then his adaption to an animal that wouldn’t have to always reach up to their head. It was done by their shoulder, without turning the back of the hand towards the other person.

Barking in glee, India pointed to Owen, and the boy followed the claw. Owen demonstrated the difference again. “Raptor arms don’t extend in certain directions, which makes it difficult to get the hand up to the side of the head for prolonged moments in time. I’ve had to change the location and certain movements of signs to fit their physiology. Such as ‘understand,’ which they’ve just figured out.” 

The boy grinned, doing the ASL version, then the raptor version. The rexes crooned in glee, sharp eyes following the boy’s hands as he asked them their names. They gave him their sign names, paused, then pointed back to Owen, who fingerspelled their names out, then showed him how their name-sign would look like on a human, then on a raptor.

India started bouncing again, the childlike behavior getting some of the audience to relax with the large predator so close. She signed, with great enthusiasm, _NAME-YOU-BOY-NAME-WHAT-PLEASE-HAPPY-TALK-PLEASE-NAME-PLEASE!_

“India gets excited very easily, but--” Movement caught his eyes, and he peered around the boy to see the man, presumably the boy’s father, signing back towards the crowd. “Wait. _Wait!_ Sir! Are there _more_ Deaf kids here?”

“Yes! Yes, there are!”

“Oh my God!” Owen stepped around the mic, and ran up to him, overwhelmed and beyond happy. He grabbed the man’s shoulders with his hands, a bright smile threatening to loosen the tears that he could feel gathering behind his eyes. “Where?!”

“Middle rows, from seats A through M.”

“Why the hell weren’t you brought down closer so you would have been able to be set up for interpretation?”

“They wanted a better vantage point.”

“Well, they’re about to get the best one yet!” He waved to the class of children, who all waved back. Turning to the raptors, he pointed up, and they waved as well. And then he said in very simple, blunt language: _You. All-you. Walk-here. Come-sign. Please!_

The show was officially stolen and over. The other spectators, most of whom crying or hiding tears at the simple connection that had been forged, were given secondary passes for the next morning. The Deaf group, which consisted of students between the ages of eight and eighteen with one interpreter for every two children, were given VIP access across the island by Claire herself. The park manager had come looking for Owen when he didn’t meet her at the restaurant for dinner. She had changed into comfortable clothing after work, long having given herself over to getting dirty while helping Owen with their pack.

Hiding by the entrance, she smiled at the presenter, who stood guard. “I thought he had gotten caught up. I just didn’t expect it to be from a gaggle of kids. They’re not usually his thing.”

The woman, one of the T-rex handlers, smiled in return. “I don’t think that there had been a dry eye since Foxy saw the interpreter signing to the first little boy.” She looked over the entire crowd, then pointed out a little boy who was propped as close as he could be to Foxtrot, signing enthusiastically over the fence.

Claire smiled, watching Owen laugh and start signing to Blue, who began exaggerating a gag reflex. The kids laughed, signing something that looked like encouragement. All four raptors started whining and signing _DAD-STOP-NO-WHY_ in various combinations. Catching a few phrases, she finally snorted and began laughing. “Oh, God, he’s telling the kids about the time that the raptors decided to eat a bowl of apples.”

“Wait. _The_ actual Apple Incident?!”

“With the explosive diarrhea? Yes.” Claire walked over as the handler leaned against the wall, waving and smiling to those who noticed her. She was far less fluent in the language than Owen was, and as such, she simply answered the small questions. It spread quickly that she was a beginner, and they helped her along.

The group stayed long past closing.

Owen waved goodbye after them, one arm around Claire. He smiled down at her, his voice soft. “I think you know what I’m going to ask.”

“I think you know what I’m going to approve.”

“Deaf Handlers and Junior Handlers?”

“I’ll arrange a meeting with everyone tomorrow with footage of today as proof.”

“You’re the best. Let’s get all my ladies fed and home, hm?”

She hummed in agreement, and they walked back to the railing, the rexes letting them onto their noses to be lowered down to the ground. Surrounded by the pack, Claire and Owen kissed.


	2. Tamed, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owen tames the I-rex out of the rampage, saving Isla Nublar from the devastating events of the movie. Sort of. More like he simply tries to teach her good manners after they get her back into the paddock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Ok, give us your thoughts on a Jurassic World AU where Owen is able to calm the Indominus down from her rampage and make her join the pack.
> 
> This is a separate AU from "Signs True," the previous chapter. A second part will be written later.

It was terrifying.

It was terrifying and he wasn’t sure how the _hell_ he had managed it. The crisis had been averted. The Indominus was intact and in her paddock again. The raptors settled in their own paddock with treats and very full bellies. The park remained running like the smoothly oiled money-making machine it was designed to be.

Owen Grady was hounded by Vic Hoskins every step of the day after the containment incident. He refused to say a word to the man, going about his tasks with stiff shoulders. His report had been filed before Hoskins had even gotten up in the morning, he was sleep deprived, he was beyond unhappy with his life. But the girls were behaving, all but Delta.

Delta wanted to eat Hoskins’ face.

Owen was tempted to let her, if only to keep the man from crawling any further up his butt.

The raptors were hand-fed treats through the cage bars, Hoskins outside of the “airlock” and running his mouth. Delta continued to let herself look over Owen’s shoulder at the fat man, a subsonic rumble verbalizing her intent. Owen patted under the end her chin with a grunt. She huffed and circled the other three, watching Hoskins from another angle.

“He really likes me, ya think? Always watchin’ me.”

“ _She_ really wants to _eat_ you,” Barry growled, passing the security head and slamming the door shut. “You almost got them all _killed_. Delta, like Blue, is smart. And she sees you as prey. You react like _prey_. And yet you think yourself above her in the food chain. _Merde._ ” Turning away, Barry shouldered at Owen much like the velociraptors did to each other when they were feeling companionable, clicking at the girls to line up for their supplements.

Not for the first time was Owen grateful for his college French classes. Barry certainly kept up an amusing commentary when pissed.

“Hey. I need you to keep this place on lockdown. I’m going to check on the new girl.”

“Be careful.”

“I’m bringing Blue.”

“You’re _crazy_.”

“Well, crazy kept us alive last night.”

“Fine.”

Lowering his voice under the squeals and chatter from their pack, Owen rumbled, “I know you play with Delta off-camera.”

“ _He_ doesn’t need to know that.”

“You think I’ve kept your secret all this time to bring it up as blackmail? It’s gonna keep secret.”

Barry snorted.

“See? We’re pack; we watch out for each other. Keep me posted.” He raised his voice and yelled out over the raptors. “HO!” Once they focused in on him, he grinned. “Hey. Okay. Eyes on me.” They wavered on their feet, gazes sharp. He pointed. “Blue. Crate time.”

She immediately obeyed, walking through the side door that lead into the harnesses. She often got treats and pets, able to interact with Alpha, even if her head was held still. With a smile, he closed the door after her. “Good! Echo!” He tossed the treats out according to their name and station. Turning to see Blue with her head already waiting, he smiled. “Back up, girl. We’re going for a run.”

Blue pulled her head back with a scream of glee. Run! Run-run-run-run-run!

“Wait. You’re doing _what_?” Hoskins was backing away from the staging area quickly, sweat glistening upon his brow.

Grinning and letting himself out, Owen finally spoke directly to the man. “What, didn’t you want to see how well that I can _control_ the raptors? You didn’t _want_ to have hands-on experience?” He waved to Leon, who released the door.

Blue burst out, running around in a brief loop before returning to Owen’s side, huffing at his face. He smiled, stroking along her face. “Atta girl, Blue. Heel.” He walked over to his bike, the raptor close to his side. Hoskins shook, hands _visibly_ shaking as Owen and Blue paced by him, neither even _bothering_ to look at him. Settling upon his bike and revving the motor, Owen grinned at his girl. “Let’s go!”

She took off at a jog until Owen caught up and passed her, opening up along the straight dirt road.

Hoskins sat hard on a stair. Blue was one scary bitch. But Blue was Owen’s. Delta? Now, Delta was going to be _his_. She wanted him. He could just _tell_. He knew predators.

.o.

The Indominus paddock was positively _swarming_ with people. Blue was distracted by all the movement when they stopped by one of the last vehicles parked at the side of the access road, a familiar Mercedes-Benz that remained occupied.

Three people stared out at him. He smiled, sauntering up to the driver. “Hey.”

Claire and her nephews replied softly, attention really upon the raptor behind him. Owen grinned. “I’ll suit her up, I know, but you three looked like you needed a smile first. Blue! Smile!”

She glared at him.

“Awww, c’mon pretty lady, smile for our friends?”

Making a noise that sounded eerily similar to a “guh,” the raptor opened her eyes wide, dilated her pupils, angled her head and opened her mouth in a parody of a cute smile.

Gray grinned, Zach huffed a laugh, and Claire rubbed at her forehead, trying not to show that she was smiling at the silly antics that Owen had trained his smartest animal to do. Owen tossed Blue a piece of jerky. “Right. Stay in the car until I make her public-presentable. Much as she’ll listen to me, she’s still a wild animal and none of you have the body language for controlling her if she gets pissed off by a construction worker.” Turning back to one of his saddlebags, Owen pulled out a steel and leather muzzle, similar in design to what military dogs wore. Added to it were “mittens” to keep her hand-claws curled around leather cushions, gently bound around wrists. She hated these, but intimately understood the price of harming a human.

The boots around her killing-claw were less troublesome, and she lifted her feet without fighting. The look was ferocious anyway, and Blue liked being able to walk among humans, scaring them. She felt the leash (decorational to be honest) clip on at the base of the muzzle at her jaw. Owen clipped the other end of the chain to his belt, freeing up both hands, and glad that he had a breakaway snap at either end of the leash in case she really got it in her head to teach someone a lesson. “Now, behave. Show them how perfect of a little lady you are.”

Cooing her response, Blue followed him back up to the humans waiting in the car. She snuffled at the female . . . approved of the female. The fire-headed woman would make a good mate for her Alpha. Strong nesting-scents came from both when they were together. She firmly nudged her Alpha closer to the Female, causing them to stumble and hold onto each other for balance. Good. Touching was better than wanting. She lifted her head high, smug.

“What . . . was that?” Claire asked, getting her feet back under herself again.

Owen was watching Blue’s gaze carefully before he sighed. “She’s . . . well . . . she gets me; she’s in tune with me. Can we talk about this later when the boys aren’t around?”

“Look, if you want to date Aunt Claire, then just tell her so,” Gray said. “I think your raptor gets that the two of you are dancing around each other. But we’re here to see the Indominus. Aren’t we?”

Zach was hiding his face in his hands, “Gray, you _don’t say those things_ to adults.”

“So? They’re not gonna say it to each other.”

“Oh my God, Gray . . .”

“Boys. Tighten it up.” Owen’s voice cut through their moods, sobering both quickly. “I need Blue’s attention when I assess the Indominus, and she’s already pretty distracted by the people around right now. I don’t know if I’ll have the same rapport with the rex--”

A bugling call cutting into the distinctive repetitive cough of a raptor echoed out over the paddock wall.

Blue replied.

Humans stumbled to a halt, not sure whether to look at the still-warped door that showed peeks of grey and white scales or the raptor on a leash.

Owen looked to Blue, who opened her mouth and _raaa-aa-aa-aa_ ’ed at him. “Well, fine, then. Let’s go say hi and see if she still likes us. Claire, boys, either stay in the car or go into the observation room. Blue, heel.” He walked down the road, not caring of the people pressing themselves to either side. Blue had a “humans killed” list. The Indominus had a “humans killed” list. Both respected him. Somehow. He just needed to maintain that respect.

He needed a fucking name for the bigger creature. Not having a name gave it a power to be greater and scarier than it was in reality. Even Granny Sue had a name, and she was over twenty years old, had killed several humans, and was still seen as a lovable scaly beast.

He went right up to the damaged door, seeing movement on the other side. “Hey, girl.” The bass warble made his jeans tremble around his steady legs. Owen grinned. “Heeey. You hungry?”

“What the _fuck_ kind of joke is that?”

Owen and Blue turned their heads slowly to stare at the construction worker. “You _really_ don’t wanna be still here when I get back down from feeding her. If you’re uncomfortable working around her, _leave_.”

The worker quickly started packing up his tools. Owen patted Blue’s shoulder, seeing a large eye through one of the gaps between door and wall. “Hey, beautiful. How’s our new girl?” He knew the layout of the paddock by now, so while he kept talking to her, he started moving towards the food room and then up the stairs to the crane room. Once there, the handlers were eyeballing him. One asked, “You thinking of going in with her?”

He shrugged, not stopping his praises of how good she was being for staying in her home. Before handling any of the meat, he rolled up his sleeves, pulled off all of Blue’s equipment, and hung everything on the wall and out of the way. These handlers had worked with him, Barry, and the raptors before; they weren’t afraid, but had a healthy respect for what a raptor could do. Once he had a wheelbarrow of head-sized chunks, he positioned it and hit the big red button. The door opened, and the crane went out empty. Owen walked to the edge of the platform, watching the Indominus’ reaction, Blue’s face over his shoulder.

The big girl blinked, turning back to look at the opening. Owen smiled. “Hey, sweetheart. Let’s chat.”

Crouching on the edge of the platform, a bunch of meat close to hand, he cooed at his newest acquisition. She tilted her head to one side, raised her chin . . . _and she cooed back_.

“Good girl!” he praised, grabbing a piece of meat and lobbing it underhanded at her face. She snapped it out of midair, then opened her mouth for another one, but closed it after a moment, realizing that it wasn’t going to come. But why?

Owen cooed at her. She blinked, cooed curiously, then with confidence. He chuckled and tossed her another piece of meat. This went on for the first bucket of meat. He stood, changed out the buckets for the next one, and settled back in a crouch. He waited until she was distracted. “Hey. Eyes on me.”

Blue looked directly at Owen. She got a piece of jerky from his off-hand as a reward.

The Indominus was still distracted. “Eyes on me!” Owen repeated, firmer this time. Blue got another treat for being a good example.

The Indominus looked to him with a snarl, not wanting to be interrupted, then looked away again.

Until Blue barked at her, reaffirming the Alpha’s command.

He got her eyes. “Good!” Tossing the meat to her, he kept the command training up.

She learned by the fourth repetition. And once she understood that she would get a snack faster, Owen sped up the learning curve. She was highly intelligent, more so than the dolphins he worked with years ago and maybe even smarter than Blue. Smart didn’t mean that she would take the place of beta, though. Smart could mean keeping herself at a position where she wouldn’t have to defend her position constantly.

She came closer to the platform. It was just above her head, but she stretched. While continuing to be larger than anticipated, the Indominus could tap the bottom with her nose. Owen slowly laid on his belly, grabbing the last piece of meat. “Hey. Good girl. Ready for something new?”

She whuffled.

He was going to catch so much hell with this move. He lowered his hand down, a piece of meat in it, right over her opening mouth. He dropped it and pulled his hand back quickly. The Indominus snapped the piece out of midair, and then paused. She raised her head again, keeping her mouth shut.

Owen reached out carefully, slowly, palm facing the biggest land carnivore on the island. He could lose a minimum of his arm for this stunt if he didn’t keep his energy stable and showing that he was completely in command of this encounter.

She pushed her nose against his bloody palm, breathing in deeply. When she pulled away, the blood remained. Owen smiled. He’d left his mark on her.

“Foxtrot. Good girl.”

His phone buzzed with a message, a tri-pulse vibration noting it as “urgent” rattling against his keys. He pushed himself to his feet and wiped his hands off on a damp towel tossed to him by another handler before pulling it out and reading the screen.

“Shit. Blue! Heel! Everyone outta my way!”

He grabbed the gear off of the wall, but didn't bother putting it on her in his mad dash out of the paddock. Claire was already in her SUV with her nephews. He slid to a stop, holding onto the frame of the car door. “Get back to the control room! I’ll handle the situation on the ground! Send ACU to standby at the raptor perimeter until I call them in! Go!” The moment he let go, she pulled the SUV into a u-turn, speeding off down the road while Owen slammed himself onto his bike and followed suit.

Blue kept by his side the entire time.

It was already too late when they arrived.

Barry’s arm was being firmly patched up by Leon, both keeping their sides to the cage, at least one of them glancing up at the gruesome scene within. The handler would need stitches, but the kid had a good hand at first aid. Skidding to a halt, Owen parked and shut off the bike. “Blue, _stay_.”

He was so glad she listened to him when he walked up to his old friend, eyes on the raptor on the other side of the fence. “What happened, Barry.”

“Hoskins . . . overruled your order.”

“Cameras?”

“All working. Audio should be included.”

“You protested his order.”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s the last mistake he made.” Owen stepped close to the cage. There were pieces of human strewn amid dirt and straw. Torn fabric and blood plastered walls and cage bars. Owen had been in active war zones during his deployment in the Navy. It was amazing how much space a human could take up when the body was scattered in pieces. “She didn’t eat him.”

“No. She killed him in cold blood,” Leon whispered, done with the first aid on Barry. He stood, facing the cage. The kid was scared, but less dumb than the day before. “She hunted him. Scared him. Made him fear her.”

The behavioralist blinked at Delta, who stood in one clear patch of ground, then looked to Leon. “They’re animals, kid.”

“Don’t lie to me; I know what I saw.”

“You gonna talk to the shrinks ’bout this?”

“You bet your ass I am. But it won’t affect my work, sir.”

“Good. Better that I have someone who’s willing to talk to folks about their mental shitfest than assholes who think they’re too good for some old-fashioned therapy.” Owen changed gears, “I need you to operate the doors when I tell you to.”

“Got it.” The kid limped up the stairs to join a handful of ACU men. None were able to look down into the holding pens for long.

Owen looked down at Barry, who was still sitting. “You okay?”

“Will be. Maybe.”

“We’ve been through this before.”

“But not with our boss being the victim.”

“He brought it on himself. I authorized a lockdown while I investigated the Indominus. He overrode my order for a lockdown. It’s _not_ your fault. But I’m going to be isolating Delta for a while.”

Barry’s voice was low, quiet. “She was upset that I got in the way.”

Owen ran the thumb across the fingerpads of his hand. “They always get upset when they hurt a packmate. Okay. Let’s get Charlie and Echo out of the scrub and into the forest, close off that gate, and get Delta into scrub so we can get medical out here to clean up what’s left of Hoskins.”

.o.

The next few months passed in a blur. Owen would take different raptors with him to see their new packmate, Foxtrot. Nobody in park management thought it was a good idea (except for Claire), but Owen had no misconceptions about the Indominus. She was extremely dangerous, extremely intelligent, and he really didn’t want to be in a place where she had the advantage. All encounters were vetted by him. All feedings were personally handled by him. Barry helped care for the raptors, really stepping up and helping deal with the paperwork and incident reports.

He really owed Barry a vacation, some expensive alcohol, and babysitting services. It was a shock that Barry’s family hadn’t given him hell yet.

Owen sat on the edge of the feeding platform, having finished today’s training lesson and feeding time. Foxtrot was sated, watching him and chirring happily. It had been a long four months in total since she had escaped, and she had come a long way. If she misbehaved, she didn’t get interaction. If she got aggressive around regular feeding times, Owen would limit his interaction, would only feed her, then leave. Literally leave. Not hide and wait until her temper tantrum is over.

She liked his discipline. She liked his approval. She liked him. She liked Claire, too, but she obeyed Owen.

He leaned his elbows on his knees, legs crossed as he contemplated the white dinosaur. Four months. He estimated that she would never be able to work socially with humans in her lifetime. She knew humans could be food, just like Granny Sue. The old Tyrannosaur was chilly but cordial to her handlers, but would submit to a good grooming if she was gorged and the weather was good enough to bask. She tolerated a couple of a handful of humans who had trained for years to be able to work with her unique behavioral issues.

Blue murmured, laying beside him with her nose resting over the edge of the platform. Foxtrot warbled, blinked, then tilted her head, staring at the wall below them. She often got distracted by movement on the other side of the wall, but Owen knew that it wouldn’t last very long. He let her remain distracted for a little while. It gave her time to process a lesson. And today had been a breakthrough. She had learned that certain words meant certain actions. Movement and actions. Walking and stopping. Jumping. Turning.

Four months and he knew that if Foxtrot wanted him to be, he would be dead. She was starved for interaction. But she was still death on legs. And she wasn’t for public sight. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Blue picked her head up, tilted it, then yawned mightily, jaw cracking and stretching wide. Owen chuckled, patting her shoulder. “Okay, ladies. Time for Owen to get some lunch. Fox, I’ll be back in two hours. Be a good girl.”

He stood up, Blue stretching from snout to tail before starting to get to her feet.

_Cl-click._

Fuck.

Owen turned sideways, eyes locking on a familiar face.

_Fuck. No, fuckitall, no!_

“I’ll make this short. You weren’t supposed to succeed. You weren’t supposed to succeed. Park was supposed to fail. And this time, I’ll make sure that it will. Goodbye.”

Finger squeezed. Owen ducked. Felt punched in the shoulder, thrown off-balance.

Blue screamed.

Falling.

One last thought.

_Whistled._

Raptor scream of fury and hunt.

Impact.

_Nothing._


End file.
